Air Force Academy
North Dakota State
Air Force Wrestling Drops Big 12 Match 14-23
1/22/2016 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
Fargo, N.D. - Air Force concluded Friday night Big 12 Conference action with a 14-23 loss to the Bison of North Dakota State. The Falcons would see victory in four of 10 weight classes with two Falcons earning bonus points. Air Force's record drops to 5-3, 0-2 Big 12 while North Dakota State improved to 2-4, 2-0 Big 12.
The Bison would strike first with bonus points coming from #16 Josh Rodriguez's technical fall over Drew Romero (18-2) in the 125 class. The Falcons struck back with #19 Josh Martinez's 8-3 decision over Nico Colunga in the 133 class and Dylan Hyder's major Decision over Tommy Watson (12-2) in the 141 class to bring the score to 7-5 in favor of Air Force.
The Bison would regain control with the 2-0 decision win in the 149 class, but the lead would be contested by Zach Stepan's 7-3 decision in the 157 class to give the Falcons their last lead of the night.
The Falcons would go on to drop the next three bouts in the 165, 174 and 184 weight classes allowing the Bison to extended their lead to 20-10.
The Falcons would find themselves in striking distance yet again after Parker Hines commanded the 12-4 major decision in the 197 class putting the score at 14-20. Heavyweight wrestler Marcus Malecek was unable to wrangle the fall for the tie and would drop the 4-1 decision in the final bout of the night, finalizing the score at 23-14 in favor of North Dakota State.
Final results:
Air Force (5-2, 0-1 Big 12) at North Dakota State (1-4, 1-0 Big 12)
125: #16 Josh Rodriguez (NDSU) TF 5:23 Drew Romero (AF) - 18-2, NDSU 5-0
133: #19 Josh Martinez (AF) dec. Nico Colunga (NDSU) - 8-3, NDSU 5-3
141: Dylan Hyder (AF) MD Tommy Walton (NDSU) - 12-2, AF 7-5
149: Clay Ream (NDSU) dec. Jerry McGinty (AF) - 2-0, NDSU 8-7
157: Zach Stepan (AF) dec. Kyle Gliva (NDSU) - 7-3, AF 10-8
165: Grant Nehring (NDSU) dec. Alex Lopouchanski (AF) - 9-2, NDSU 11-10
174: Blake Thompson (NDSU) dec. Zen Ikehara (AF) - 5-3, NDSU 14-10
184: #6 Hayden Zillmer (NDSU) fall Anthony McLaughlin (AF) - Fall 2:52, NDSU 20-10
197: Parker Hines (AF) MD Logan Paxton (SDSU) - 12-4, NDSU 20-14
285: Ben Tynan (NDSU) dec. Marcus Malecek (AF) - 4-1, NDSU 23-14
Final Team Score: 23 (SDSU) - 14 (AF)
*Rankings based on Intermat
Air Force wrestling continues Big 12 Conference action against the Jackrabbits of South Dakota State on Sunday, Jan. 24, in Brooking South Dakota, at 11 a.m. CT.
Players Mentioned
